Chapter 1748: The Dao Of Nine Mounds (II)

When Li Ximing had first visited Nine Mounds, he had been a young novice who only understood that the man possessed formidable divine abilities. But he had no idea just how terrifyingly powerful this man truly was. Now, after witnessing so many heroes and cultivators of great divine abilities across both north and south, he finally understood the true significance of the knowledge that the man before him had perfected his divine abilities.

His divine abilities have reached perfection!

Daoist Master Yuandao may well possess the greatest divine abilities of any cultivator I have ever encountered! Even the master of the Pavilion of Profound Order is probably somewhat weaker than him!

Now that he had mastered [Radiance Under Heaven], his perception of all things had grown far more acute. Though the man before him was merely standing there, his presence stirred the qi flows of the entire mountain range. Hazy red Fire Virtue draped over the young man like a robe, secretly filling Li Ximing with awe.

Both his nature and life are complete. He truly has hope of attaining the Dao...

Li Ximing treated him with even greater reverence than before, but Daoist Master Yuandao did not seem to have changed much. He smiled faintly, invited Li Ximing to sit, and praised him, "Your divine abilities have advanced remarkably quickly!"

Li Ximing repeatedly insisted that the praise was undeserved. Daoist Master Yuandao said nothing more and took the precious pearl, holding it between three fingers that were as flawless as white jade.

He said, "It came from the Murong Family of the Compassion Dao... No wonder you found it so difficult to handle."

His handsome eyes shifted toward Li Ximing. With a seemingly meaningful smile, he said, "Dry Fire again. Anything beyond Radiant, True, and Virile Fire is exceedingly difficult to handle."

How could Li Ximing fail to understand his meaning? Embarrassed, he did not know how to respond. He suddenly realized that the Grand Daoist Master before him had probably known about this little secret his family had concealed for years.

The [Yang Nourishing Technique] originally came from Senior Tulong. Since Senior Tulong had close dealings with Nine Mounds, it is hardly surprising that the Grand Daoist Master learned of this technique long ago. He probably already knew when I first came here.

However, the technique was exceedingly valuable, and Li Ximing did not understand the Grand Daoist Master's intentions. He would never broach the subject first, so he continued feigning ignorance and nodded before hurriedly saying, "I came this time to ask the Nine Mounds Dao lineage to remove the Buddhist cultivator's methods from it. I will provide items of equivalent value to cover the cost of the necessary spirit materials. Once this Dry Fire has been purified, I hope to trade it to an Immortal Dao lineage for a portion of Radiant Fire..."

Hope filled his eyes as he said, "My family is small and has limited means. It would take us years just to gather the spirit materials needed to purify it, to say nothing of unraveling the methods within it strand by strand. There is no telling how long that would take. Nine Mounds is a great Immortal Dao lineage with profound expertise in such matters..."

Yuandao listened for a while before lifting his cup and replying softly, "Very well. However, I cannot guarantee that the Radiant Fire you receive will be of particularly high quality."

Li Ximing was briefly taken aback. He quickly realized that Yuandao was not particularly eager to obtain the flame. He was merely doing Li Ximing a favor. Li Ximing quickly agreed, whereupon Yuandao turned his hand over and put away the precious pearl before calmly saying, "Wait at the lake for now. This cannot be completed in a day. Once it is done, Daoist Master Lingdu will contact you."

Li Ximing secretly breathed a sigh of relief. By his reckoning, they had already been delayed for quite some time, and Daoist Master Yuandao clearly had no intention of saying anything further. He summoned Li Quewan, gave her careful instructions, and tactfully took his leave.

Li Quewan was not surprised. She had already guessed that her Daoist Master had found her a refuge when they arrived at Nine Mounds. She thanked Yuandao and Lingdu before obediently withdrawing.

Only Daoist Masters Yuandao and Lingdu remained on the mountain. Approval appeared on the face of the master of Nine Mounds, whose divine abilities had reached perfection.

"That young woman's Dao conduct is remarkable, and I can see that she has also cultivated shamanic arts. Even Qiushui was no better than this back then... Not bad."

His praise was actually directed at Li Quewan, who had just come up the mountain. Lingdu looked somewhat astonished, apparently having rarely heard Daoist Master Yuandao speak so highly of anyone.

He replied, "I would call it unfortunate. There is already a Qiushui ahead of her..."

Daoist Master Yuandao smiled faintly and shook his head. "Rather, you should say it is fortunate that there is already a Qiushui ahead of her. She is still young and has only now begun seeking divine ability.

“Otherwise, given how determined the lord of the Golden One Dao lineage is to secure the Whole Pill Dao, she would undoubtedly have been destroyed. Grand Daoist Master Miaoqi of the Western Sea was neither capable of attaining the Dao nor inclined to pursue it, yet merely crossing the Purple Mansion Threshold cost Grand Daoist Master Miaoqi's life...

"From what I can see, aside from Li Zhouwei, who descended from Bright Yang, she is the only member of the Li Family whose innate ability is truly noteworthy. Senior Xuan'an was willing to let her cultivate the Whole Pill Dao because he calculated that it was already too late for her to interfere with Qiushui. She might even benefit from Qiushui's success and draw closer to the Golden One Upper Azure faction."

Lingdu gradually grew thoughtful and soon understood. "So that is why she is a girl."

Daoist Master Yuandao smiled without answering. Only after taking a sip of tea did he say, "He has probably already learned what happened to Tulong. He knows better than to ask about it, but I imagine he has already guessed most of the truth."

Lingdu lowered his eyes. "With the Grand Daoist Master helping him to this extent, how could he fail to guess?"

Daoist Master Yuandao rose and clasped his hands behind his back. "Master entrusted Nine Mounds to me. At times, I worry that I have not done enough, while at others, I worry that I have done too much. Given the foxes' arrangements and the legacy left by the Origin Mansion, our relationship should naturally be a close one. If not for the pressures imposed by the state of the world, we ought to have warmly welcomed several of their descendants here and helped their family organize its Dao lineages..."

His profound eyes gazed into the distance. "Now that we also owe Tulong a favor, we naturally ought to help. I should not have given Li Ximing that hint, but descendants of the Bright Yang bloodline are deeply suspicious. If there was not a reason stated, he would refuse our help even if we offered it. However, we must never mention Tulong's name. We can repay what we owe him along the way, but we must not allow him to become too deeply entangled in the situation surrounding Bright Yang..."

Lingdu looked both worried and rueful. He hurriedly rose from the table and moved to Yuandao's side before asking softly, "But once the affairs of Bright Yang are concluded and Donghua Heaven falls, matters concerning Senior Xuan'an will become difficult to handle... As for Li Quewan, would the Grand Daoist Master be willing to intervene and protect her?"

Yuandao lightly tapped the table. "If I succeed, and Lord Xuan'an reaches an agreement with the lord of the Golden One Dao lineage, protecting her should not be a problem."

Lingdu exhaled heavily and replied, "I suspect that, no matter what happens, Junjian will find it difficult to stand aside. Moreover, there is still another one on the mountain."

By 'no matter what happens,' Lingdu was actually referring to the situation that would follow if Yuandao failed. However, saying so directly would be inauspicious, and even great divine ability cultivators often avoided such words. He had therefore phrased it tactfully, but Yuandao understood him perfectly.

The great divine ability cultivator, who had always carried himself with composure, now appeared somewhat worried. He said quietly, "No one in this world is free of guilt. Everyone is born destined to fail someone. Tulong has always been loyal and righteous, but wanting me to never fail anyone is by no means a good thing. It mattered little when his cultivation was weak, but now he is a prominent figure in this realm. Yet he still clings to that pure and unclouded heart. I fear he may ruin his own Great Dao."

Lingdu remained silent for a long time before replying, "Whether it will ruin his Dao or bring it to fulfillment remains difficult to say."